1. Field
The following description relates to a hose and accessory holder for an upright vacuum cleaner, and to an upright vacuum cleaner having such a holder.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a vacuum cleaner provides a suction force generated by a fan mounted in a vacuum cleaner body to a nozzle unit via a hose and an extension pipe. The suction force sucks dust from a floor into the nozzle unit, and collects the dust in a dust-collecting receptacle mounted in the vacuum cleaner body, thereby performing cleaning.
In an upright vacuum cleaner, a user performs cleaning using a main nozzle unit when cleaning a floor, and performs cleaning using an auxiliary suction nozzle when cleaning a narrow area that cannot be cleaned using the main nozzle unit. The auxiliary suction nozzle is connected to the vacuum cleaner body via a hose and an extension pipe, and different accessory tools may be connected to the free end of the extension pipe in accordance with the type of area to be cleaned. The most widely used accessory tools are a brush tool and a crevice tool. Such accessory tools require a holder when they are not in use.
When a vacuum cleaner is not in use, or when performing cleaning using the main nozzle unit a hose holder is needed for fixing the hose used to connect an auxiliary suction nozzle when that auxiliary suction nozzle is not in use.
Conventionally, in order to improve convenience in carrying accessory tools, an accessory holder mounted on a hose has been proposed. Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0043380, discloses a tool holder that is connected to a hose, and allows an accessory tool to be inserted in socket fashion thereinto. Since the tool holder surrounds the entire hose, it is inconvenient to attach/detach the tool holder, and the tool holder cannot be connected to a vacuum cleaner body.
Korean Patent Publication No. 1997-0020029 discloses a hose holder mounted on a handle portion. However, an accessory tool cannot be inserted into the hose holder, and the hose holder tends to be detached from the handle portion due to movement of the hose.